Category: National Politics

In this first in a series on her book The Return of the Political, I introduce political theorist Chantal Mouffe, briefly discussing her background and the broad outline of her perspective, with reference to McKenzie Wark’s treatment of it in General Intellects. … More No Escape from Politics: Intro to Chantal Mouffe (1 Audio)

In this first in a series on her book The Return of the Political, I introduce political theorist Chantal Mouffe, briefly discussing her background and the broad outline of her perspective, with reference to McKenzie Wark’s treatment of it in General Intellects. … More No Escape from Politics: Intro to Chantal Mouffe (1 Video)

This is a conversation I recently had with Spencer Hess, a friend of mine and an urban farmer in the Kansas City area. It revolves around topics like Enlightenment liberalism/neoliberalism and its legacy, weaknesses, strengths and future. We discuss Naomi Klein’s critique in “No Logo” of neoliberal commodity fetishization in the form of brand-attachment, McKenzie Wark’s idea that “Capital is Dead,” and also the the idea of seceding from the system and Rod Dreher’s “Benedict Option.” Along the way, Spencer talks about what it’s like to try to start up an urban farm in an economy that doesn’t favor such things, and how the pandemic situation may affect our perceptions of what’s practical when it comes to how we get our food. … More Liberal Enlightenment and What Lies Beyond: A Conversation with Spencer Hess (Audio)

In this video, I reflect on the current coronavirus pandemic and what I think I have learned over the past couple of years about the human reaction to crises and how our “just in time” economy and expectations can leave us without the resources to deal resiliency with unforeseen contingencies. … More Eat This–Dealing With a Stress Test (Audio)

In this video, I reflect on the current coronavirus pandemic and what I think I have learned over the past couple of years about the human reaction to crises and how our “just in time” economy and expectations can leave us without the resources to deal resiliency with unforeseen contingencies. … More Eat This–Dealing With a Stress Test (Video)

You exist in your make-believe world. Your world where if men were gentlemen and women were ladies, all would be well. Where, if only, people went to church and believed the jot and tittle of the latest orthodoxy (read: what you believe is the oldest orthodoxy). Where if only everyone was like you—if only there was agreement that kids just needed to learn their ABC’s and 123’s and if everyone was SAVED. … More To the Fan Dong (Reactionaries)

I’m setting aside After Virtue for this week to deal with the problem of “fake news.” It appears to be a real threat to democracy. Is fake news the threat we should focus on, or is fake news the result of a larger problem–our excessive gullibility. And, what causes the excessive gullibility of ideological ciphers, fan-boys, shills, tools and zealots?
… More Fake News is Not the Problem (Audio)

I’m setting aside After Virtue for this week to deal with the problem of “fake news.” It appears to be a real threat to democracy. Is fake news the threat we should focus on, or is fake news the result of a larger problem–our excessive gullibility. And, what causes the excessive gullibility of ideological ciphers, fan-boys, shills, tools and zealots? … More Fake News is Not the Problem